Stand with a nation on the brink of extinction.

Here's a message from Bill McKibben at 350.org

Dear Friends,

We've got about a month to go before the big International Day of Climate Action on October 24, and just in case you needed a little motivation we've got a video to show you, from one of the braver world leaders we know.

Watch the President of the Maldives' brave call for emergency action on climate change--and add your voice to his call for 350:

www.350.org/pledge

Mohamed Nasheed, the president of the Maldives, isn't just brave because he endured five years as a political prisoner before finally ousting the country's longtime ruler in an election last fall. He's brave, too, because he's confronting head-on the question of the country's survival, instead of simply focusing on easier issues.

The Maldives are like the whole planet in miniature-global warming threatens their very existence, and almost certainly before the century is out. The highest point in the islands is a couple of meters above sea level-and since scientists say sea level may rise a couple of meters this century, that's a dangerous neighborhood to live in.

It's entirely possible that the nation of the Maldives-where people have lived for thousands of years, their lives built around an ecologically sustainable fishery-simply won't be there before long. Take a moment and try to imagine that--your home, your neighborhood, or your city being completely wiped off the map. Imagine your country's flag being lowered at the UN headquarters because your country quite literally does not exist.

President Nasheed faces this reality every day. That's why he's become an outspoken advocate for 350.

Yesterday, Nasheed joined world leaders in New York at a landmark meeting which is supposed to break the climate deadlock that could threaten the crucial UN meetings set for Copenhagen this December. While President Obama was there issuing a fairly tame call for "an agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions...and [an] agreement that will allow all nations to grow and raise living standards without endangering the planet," the Maldivian president was out in front of the curve. In unequivocal terms, President Nasheed said the following:

"If things go business-as-usual, we will not live, we will die. Our country will not exist. We cannot come out from Copenhagen as failures. We cannot make Copenhagen a pact for suicide. We have to succeed and we have to make a deal in Copenhagen."

But President Nasheed is just one man, and his call will be ignored without a movement to support it. Take 90 seconds to watch President Nasheed's call to action and sign the 350 pledge for a safe climate future. Members of the 350.org crew are in New York this week for the UN Climate Meetings, delivering the 350 message in person--and they can use all the support you can muster.

And while you're signing the pledge, listen to the President's words carefully. In case you think he's just talking, note that he's planning to personally put on his scuba gear and lead the world's largest underwater demonstration on Oct. 24, with 350 Maldivians bringing their signs and banners down to the sea floor to make the point that every corner of our planet is threatened. So signing the pledge is the first step--and joining the world on October 24 will really make your commitment count.

350 is gaining more and more momentum every day, and I hope President Nasheed's call will help this movement grow further and faster than it has before. The 350 message needs to come from every part of the globe on Oct. 24-from small countries like the Maldives that haven't caused the problem but will suffer its consequences, and from big countries like the United States that have done so much of the damage.

Please sign on today and join the growing global stand for 350--the world needs you now more than ever.

Onwards,

Bill McKibben

P.S. If there was ever a call to action that warranted sharing to your network, it's this. Please pass it on with a couple of clicks to Facebook and Twitter and everywhere else you can think of.

P.P.S. Last week, we asked you to join the Global Wake-Up Call...it was a fantastic success and you can check out some of our favorite photos here: www.350.org/wake-up